Pages:
252
Publisher:
Penguin
Release
Date: 7th
March 2013
Edition:
UK proof,
review copy
Other
Titles by this Author: Martyn Pig, Lucas, Kissing the
Rain, Bloodline, Candy, The Road of the Dead, Being, Black Rabbit Summer,
Killing God, iBoy,
Naked
I
can’t believe I fell for it.
It
was still dark when I woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew
where I was.
A
low-ceilinged rectangular building of whitewashed concrete. There are six
little rooms along the main corridor.
There
are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out. What’s he going to
do to me? What am I going to do?
If
I’m right, the lift will come down in five minutes.
It
did.
Only
his time it wasn’t empty...
This is going to be an
extremely vague and very likely short review as there is so much in this book
that I don't want to give away. I definitely don’t want to ruin one of my
favourite books this year for you.
Within only a few pages of
starting The Bunker Diary I was
drowning in questions: why Linus? What is the kidnapper doing? Why is he doing
it? Will he let them go? I really think the almost stream of consciousness
diary format of the novel made these questions even more poignant and prominent.
This is the type of novel that could only be truly successful when written in
one particular format and Kevin Brooks nailed it.
The
Bunker Diary contains
a vivid and conflicting cast of fantastically drawn characters, of which only a
few are actually likable in any way. Each of them handled their imprisonment so
differently and I began to wonder how I would react in that situation and I realised
that it’s one of those things you can never know until the situation presents
itself. Hopefully I never find out! Kevin brooks opens up questions about a
person’s true nature and the extremes it forces you to.
As with all of Kevin Brooks’
novels, The Bunker Diary is challenging
and thought-provoking and it certainly made me question some things. At some
point I even began to wonder if the kidnapper had taken on the role of a
metaphorical god or a higher power with complete control. Maybe I was way off
or maybe it is a metaphor for something, but I’m not quite sure yet. It was
also interesting to see how the media presented the kidnappings and how they
treated different members of society in different ways. I’d honestly never
really thought about it before.
The
Bunker Diary is
Kevin Brooks at his best; back to his Lucas
and Candy glory. An incredibly
powerful novel that’s hands down one of the best I’ve read in a while.
Thanks to Penguin for sending
me a copy for review.
Sophie
I've heard such great things about this book and, although it isn't something that I'd usually pick up, I definitely want to try it now. So glad you liked it! :)
ReplyDeleteI had to close this one a few times because I was scared of what would happen. Such a great book though.
ReplyDeleteI'm really intrigued by this now - definitely going to give it a try now!
ReplyDelete